Today “The Green Team” (Olivia Gaudin, Kevin Negron, George Wringley, Kevin Shung) did research for our EACAP project. When we went to the trail on October 16, 2015, we were appalled by the amount of garbage that littered the Schuylkill River Trail. There was garbage everywhere we turned, along the trail, and near the river and near the bridges near the trail.
Bob informed us that the people that maintain the trail are unable to incorporate more garbage cans near the trail because the residents that visit the trail consistently misuse the garbage cans that are made available. This lack of garbage cans also contributes to the amount of waste near the trail, because the people using the trail do not have many places to dispose of their garbage.
Research by Keep America Beautiful, Inc. found that people litter because: They feel no sense of ownership, (even though parks are public property) they believe someone else-a park maintenance or highway worker-will pick up after them, or they feel that it is okay to litter because litter has already accumulated.
According to Keep America Beautiful, Inc., litter is a costly problem. Highway departments spend millions of tax dollars and many hours annually picking up litter. This money and time is time that is being taking away from other important services. Local, state, and federal governments also spend money removing litter left by careless park visitors.
Our team will continue to do research, and explore solutions for this litter problem. Decreasing the amount of litter near the trail will greatly help to improve the negative perception of the trail.
It’s horrible that people litter for such selfish, not to mention lazy, reasons. Just because we think we don’t have to, doesn’t mean we don’t need to. In the Pacific ocean, there is an island made entirely of garbage that is larger than the state of Texas. You might not think that what you do alone won’t make a difference, but if everyone makes a small movement, it makes a big difference.